Swanson: Austin Reaves showing Lakers what a wise investment he’ll be

• May 13, 2023

LOS ANGELES —Far be it for me to tell Rob Pelinka what to do: The Lakers’ general manager just orchestrated a from-13th-place-to-Western Conference-finals maneuver like he was a jet pilot doing a barrel roll.

But shucks, man. I don’t need a 50,000-foot view to see it: The Lakers better hang on to Austin Reaves. They found him, they gotta keep him.

Reaves, a 24-year-old undrafted free agent – and soon-to-be restricted free agent – from tiny Newark, Arkansas, just wouldn’t look right in any colors but purple and gold.

The second-year wing with the wispy brown bangs has already gotten a playoff “Bang!” from broadcaster Mike Breen. Long a Kobe guy, he’s nicknamed “Hillbilly Kobe” and he’s proving himself the perfect pairing with LeBron James.

The young man’s 54-footer at the halftime buzzer not only brought down the house, but it went down as the the longest shot by a Laker in the past quarter-century of playoff action.

The guy who, as Anthony Davis put it, “wants to take big, big shots, and makes big shots,” he ought to be a Laker for a good, long while.

What he’s done these playoffs cements it. What he’s doing these playoffs will make it pricier too.

For now, the 6-foot-5 Reaves is earning $1.5 million. A bargain! But by piling up performances like Friday’s – 23 points on 7-for-12 shooting, five rebounds, six assists in a 122-101 closeout victory over the dynastic Golden State Warriors – he’s clearly due for a raise. And dude’s about to drive a real hard bargain.

The Lakers can, of course, match any offer Reaves gets this offseason. And from what I’m reading, the most another team can offer him in starting salary projects to be $11.4 million for 2023-24. The Lakers, via Reaves’ Early Bird rights, will be able to offer $11.9 million.

That seems like a no-brainer, except there’s always a catch, as Bleacher Report’s salary cap expert Eric Pincus has reported. In this case, it’s the Arenas Rule, by which other teams with sufficient cap space could offer Reaves as many as four years, with the last two as high as a maximum salary.

So … as much as $36-38 million for the final two seasons of a four-year deal. I don’t know if a team will put that amount on the table, but I’m certain every bucket Reaves gets that pushes the Lakers closer to a title also ups his price, which could mean sacrificing someone else from the roster in the name of luxury taxes.

But Maya Angelou knew the play: When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.

So, say, when Jalen Brunson stepped up and averaged 21.6 points for the Dallas Mavericks in their Western Conference finals run last season, it was an accurate indicator of what else he had in the tank: 27.8 points per playoff game this year for his new team, the New York Knicks.

And when Reaves, in his first run under the NBA’s intense playoff lights, shows you what he’s capable of, believe him.

When he gives you 23 points, including 14 in the final quarter in your postseason opener in Memphis, believe him when he yells in his wonderful Arkansas twang, as he did that afternoon, “I’m HIM!!!”

‘I’M HIM”

Austin Reaves letting the world know pic.twitter.com/9y15iGbAh0

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 16, 2023

And when he figures it out on the fly against the four-time champion Warriors, believe he’s got more of that in him, too.

Believe what you beheld: After looking out of his depth in the first three games against Golden State, averaging nine points on 32.1% shooting, Reaves found his bearings.

He averaged 19.7 points on 48.7% shooting in the final three games of the series.

And that’s what Reaves wrought on offense while chasing around all-world scorers Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson on the other end, efforts that coincided with a most significant, severe slump for Thompson: A career 43.6% postseason shooter who’s averaged 19.2 points per postseason contest, he shot just 19 for 39 (21.4%) in Games 4-6, and averaged just nine points.

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But believe this too: You’re not the only one seeing what Reaves can do.

Other franchises and their fans who are paying closer attention in the playoffs are coming to realize that Reaves’ shine isn’t the byproduct of the Lakers’ omnipresent spotlight. It’s not a matter of him standing in the golden hue that surrounds LeBron.

He’s not some token character in a blockbuster plot.

He’s, well, he’s “Him!” He really is.

He’s a Laker. And so he should remain.

Austin Reaves in Game 6:

23 PTS, 5 REB, 6 AST, 4/5 3PM

Lakers advance to the WCF #NBAPlayoffs presented by @GooglePixel_US pic.twitter.com/6pgdhM1qpo

— NBA (@NBA) May 13, 2023

Austin Reaves on his buzzer beater at the end of the first half, playing in the LeBron-Steph rivalry and his experience so far in the #NBAPlayoffs. pic.twitter.com/p0fNiDW9fK

— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) May 13, 2023

​ Orange County Register 

U.S. Coast Guard cutter Narwhal to visit Ocean Institute today, May 13

• May 13, 2023

The Narwhal, a U.S. Coast Guard cutter that patrols the Orange County coastline and works with first responders, is coming to a dock at the Ocean Institute in Dana Point Harbor.

It will be open today, May 13, to tours from the public.

“We love providing unique opportunities for people to learn and are so thankful for partnerships, like the one we have with the Narwhal crew, to offer amazing educational experiences to the community,” said Riley Russell, education director at the Ocean Institute.

The visit will include information on boater safety, use of safety equipment and a demonstration of “Coastie,” the Coast Guard’s robotic mascot boat, she said.

The 87-foot Narwhal – typically docked at the Coast Guard’s facility on Bayside Drive in the Newport Harbor – is the only active Coast Guard unit in Orange County. It is one of seven cutters that operate in the Coast Guard’s Southern California fleet.

The ship’s crew will be aboard, and will also talk about life in the Coast Guard and what that’s like.

The Narwhal’s mission is to secure the country’s maritime borders, but its crew also participates in search and rescues, enforcing immigration laws, overseeing local fisheries and responding to oil spills. The ship typically patrols coastal waters from the Mexican border to the Channel Islands, under the direction of the US Department of Homeland Security.

“Providing free tours to the public helps people gain an appreciation of how the Coast Guard works with Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection to patrol and protect our coast,” said Garry Nelson, USCG AUX unit coordinator. “We are grateful to the Ocean Institute for partnering with us to make this day possible.”

The auxiliary, a volunteer group that supports the Coast Guard, is also a way for the public to interact with the Coast Guard and generally learn more about boating. There are three auxiliary groups in Newport Beach, one in Huntington Beach, one in Seal Beach and one in north Orange County.

Members include experienced boaters, former Coast Guard veterans and newbies. The Coast Guard Auxiliary, established in 1939, includes 26,000 men and women nationwide, serving in 825 local units.

If you go

What: Visit the Coast Guard cutter Narwhal

When: Tours go from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 13

Where: Ocean Institute, 24200 Dana Point Harbor Drive, Dana Point Harbor

​ Orange County Register 

Homes needed for Pekingese dogs found in desert

• May 13, 2023

A concerned person notified Friends of Orange County’s Homeless Pets that six Pekingese were left on a dirt road in a desolate area of desert with no food, water, shelter or nearby homes.

Upon learning about the dogs on social media, several people rushed to the area and were able to save all six, although some were so scared they had to be trapped. The dogs were infested with ticks, and their fur was matted. After being groomed, the dogs look beautiful and are much happier.

Two of the six, Benny and Jett, still need foster homes. All of the Pekes will be available for adoption once their veterinary care is complete.

Adoption donation: This will depend on the age of the dog. These pups are estimated to be from 1 to 6 years old.

Adoption procedure: If you are interested in fostering or meeting one of these dogs, email [email protected] for more information. If you’d like to adopt one of them, go online and fill out an application.

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​ Orange County Register 

One year after Laguna Woods mass shooting, Asian community mourns ongoing tensions, violence

• May 13, 2023

Laguna Woods resident Irene Cheng was out shopping on the morning of May 15, 2022 – the day a mass shooting took place at a local Taiwanese church in the quiet, mostly elderly south Orange County neighborhood.

“I saw the yellow tape around the church. Then I heard the news,” said Cheng, who lives in Laguna Woods Village, a senior retirement community; Geneva Presbyterian Church sits just outside the community’s gates. “I came home right away and had many emails from friends all talking about it, sending pictures. I was so shocked that this was right on our front door… our peace and security (was) shattered.”

One year ago, a mass shooting broke out at a community luncheon hosted by the Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church, which uses the Geneva Presbyterian Church for services. The attack killed a 52-year-old doctor and wounded five elderly Asian victims.

And for many Asian Americans in Orange County and across the region, the church shooting still feels close to home – particularly after more recent incidents of targeted Asian-on-Asian violence, like the back-to-back shootings in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay.

“We must stop this kind of hatred,” Cheng – who is not related to John Cheng, the doctor from Aliso Viejo who heroically charged the gunman and lost his life – said. “Enough is enough.”

Cheng noted that the shooters in these three unrelated incidents were all elderly Asian men, who struggled with isolation.

The accused Laguna Woods gunman, 69-year-old David Wenwei Chou from Las Vegas, pled not guilty to attempted murder, special circumstances murder and hate crime charges last fall. He is being held in county jail.

Chou now faces nearly 100 federal charges – including hate crime, weapons and explosive counts, a grand jury decided on Wednesday, May 10, nearly one year after the attack. He could face the death penalty or life in prison without parole, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

(Chou is scheduled to return to state court in July for a preliminary hearing. A separate federal court hearing has not yet been scheduled.)

Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian church-goers were reuniting at a special Sunday service to honor Billy Chang, a former pastor visiting from Taiwan, when the shooting broke out.

After the initial struggle, Pastor Chang and fellow parishioners hogtied and disarmed the gunman before police arrived minutes later.

Authorities said the shooting was politically motivated. Chou was “upset about political tensions between China and Taiwan,” said Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes, and driven by a deep-seated hatred of Taiwanese people.

Leaders in Taiwan, a democratically run island 100 miles off of China’s east coast, have been pushing for independence from mainland China’s communist government for decades. But Beijing seeks to unify with Taiwan, which has its own population of millions, as part of its One-China principle.

Author James Zarsadiaz, a historian and professor at the University of San Francisco, studies Asian suburban communities. Zarsadiaz said that what happened in Laguna Woods “goes to show that there’s still deep-seated tensions” – particularly in older Chinese and Taiwanese generations who hold certain views about China, its political and cultural differences – and how that nationalist ideology “trickles down to immigrant communities.”

This can create divisions or “residual feelings about Communism, anti-Communism, mainland China vs. Taiwan,” Zarsadiaz said. He noted that, at the same time, the ideological divide is not as much of a concern to younger generations. But Chou, the alleged gunman, was part of that older generation “holding firmly to those ingrained beliefs,” Zarsadiaz said.  “And unfortunately, he went as far as taking his own radical beliefs out on Chinese parishioners at this church.”

KC Liu, the English ministry pastor from the Evangelical Formosa Church of Irvine, was preaching that day when he heard news of the attack just 20 minutes from his church.

“The first thing that came to mind was that it could have been us; that shooter could have targeted our church. We had the demographic (the shooter) was targeting,” said Liu. “What he did was extremely radical.”

His church has since beefed up security for services, and he knows other surrounding congregations – including Irvine Presbyterian – that have done the same over the last year.

Liu said that overall, church attendance hasn’t gone down, as people – immigrants especially – find community in their faith.

“Even that following Sunday, people immediately went back to worship because they knew they needed it. In the face of trauma, tragedy and sorrow, they came back to God,” Liu said. “I was so proud of our elderly and our community for their courage and resilience.”

Local Asian American leaders reflected back on the church shooting’s anniversary, and how it reverberates in the context of other targeted violent incidents.

“Every time there is a shooting, the community is retraumatized,” said Mary Anne Foo, executive director of the OC Asian Pacific Islander Community Alliance, one of the many groups that provided victims’ assistance resources in the wake of the Laguna Woods shooting.

“It’s been just one after the other … with hate crimes against elders and Asian-on-Asian mass shootings; it’s no different. It doesn’t matter who the shooter is,” Foo said. “The community is really concerned about access to guns, mental illness, access to mental health services for community members during this time.”

Irvine Vice Mayor Tammy Kim remembers after the church shooting, people were saying: “It wasn’t a hate crime; it was Asian-on-Asian.”

Related links

Accused Laguna Woods church shooter now faces nearly 100 federal charges
‘Dr. John Cheng saw the gun and immediately took action’ in Laguna Woods church shooting
Churchgoers hogtie gunman after 1 killed, 5 wounded at Laguna Woods church
Asian Americans grapple with mental health after Monterey Park mass shooting
Laguna Woods church shooting suspect called ‘too radical’ for Chinese communist group
Laguna Woods church shooting adds to history of hate, but hope isn’t lost
Why dance can be healing for many seniors after Monterey Park mass shooting

“To me, that doesn’t dismiss it or make it less of a hate crime,” Kim said. “People have to remember that Asian Americans are still not a monolith, and there’s a lot of international conflict that exists … we’re talking about major PTSD; the retriggering of a lot of trauma experienced by our elders through these attacks.”

Kim said that acts of violence can rekindle traumas for elders, especially immigrants and refugees who survived war, extreme poverty or political unrest in their respective homelands. Mental health isn’t top of mind for a community just trying to survive.

“When we talk about anti-Asian hate, our pan-Asian identity; about mental health and the lack of treatment that we receive as a community; about the lack of cultural competency in dealing with these issues, and the accessibility of guns … all of this plays into the narrative,” she added. “And we need to figure out solutions to make a systemic change.”

Psychologist Sheila Wu, director of the Asian Pacific Counseling and Treatment Centers, said that mental health resources and in-language counseling were offered to victims “immediately” after both the Laguna Woods and Monterey Park shootings.

Over the past year, residents have stood together to remember the Laguna Woods victims at interfaith vigils and fundraising events. Earlier in May, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department honored Dr. John Cheng with a posthumous Medal of Valor.

The Laguna Woods Village Chinese American Club, concerned about the possibility of lonely and isolated seniors in their community, started hosting more social functions and dinner-dances in the wake of the church shooting.

“We are all seniors. We know we all have different political and religious beliefs, but we respect each other,” Irene Cheng, who is a former president, said. “We want seniors to feel that they are not abandoned, and urge them to seek professional help” for mental illness.

Pastor Liu, of the Evangelical Formosa Church of Irvine, said that he generally keeps politics, especially Taiwanese-Chinese affairs, off the pulpit. Peace and harmony are more important, especially in a community still trying to heal.

“There are political divides, and definitely tensions … but we don’t shoot each other. We have Chinese mainlanders and Taiwanese congregants; we keep harmony by just talking about our shared faith in our Lord,” Liu said. “We’re brothers and sisters, and that is a stronger bond than the hate that divides us.”

​ Orange County Register 

Crean Lutheran softball unintentionally violated batting practice rule that led to CIF forfeit

• May 13, 2023

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Crean Lutheran’s softball team unintentionally violated the pregame batting practice rules that led to it forfeiting a CIF-SS quarterfinal victory this week, Saints athletic director Eric Olson said.

The Southern Section announced Friday that Crean Lutheran forfeited its 8-3 victory against visiting Tahquitz of Hemet for a violation that occurred before the schools’ Division 7 quarterfinal game on Thursday.

The violation, which resulted in the Crean Lutheran’s removal from the playoffs, occurred during pregame bunting activity, Olson said.

“Our softball team never intended to violate the CIF playoff pregame batting restriction,” Olson said in an email. “We do acknowledge our pregame bunting activity was an activity not permitted per the batting restriction.”

Section rules prohibit pregame batting practices in the playoffs, including bunting and slap hitting.

“Baƫting practice is construed as any type of pitching motion with ANY type of ball from in front of the batter,” the rules state.

Crean Lutheran (14-11-1), seeded third in Division 7, appeared set to face No. 2 Ganesha in the semifinals on Saturday.

The Saints emerged as one of Orange County’s most improved teams after finishing 0-18 last season. They qualified as an at-large entry from the challenging Empire League, which includes Division 1 finalist Pacifica and Division 3 semifinalist Kennedy.

Tahquitz was inserted back into the playoffs to play Ganesha on Saturday.

“Our administrative team and softball coaching staff understand and accept the CIF’s decision in this matter,” Olson added.

Please send softball news to Dan Albano at [email protected] or @ocvarsityguy on Twitter

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​ Orange County Register 

Why this drought-tolerant ground cover may be what gardeners need

• May 13, 2023

About 10 years ago, we traded our fescue for UC Verde buffalograss. The transformation took several months, but our grass has held up well against the 100+ degree summers. It demands much less water, so we can be more generous in irrigating our fruit trees and vegetables. At the time we installed it, there were few other drought-tolerant groundcovers available. Although it is beautiful, we are still plagued by weeds. Oxalis is especially obnoxious due to its tendency to splash its itty-bitty seeds everywhere when touched.

Recently I’ve been seeing quite a few ads for Kurapia, a new drought-tolerant ground cover that has been marketed as a turfgrass replacement. I was intrigued, especially since it’s been touted for its ability to outcompete weeds.

Kurapia (Lippia nodiflora) is related to verbena and is a low-growing flowering herbaceous ground cover. It tolerates partial shade, but when planted in full sun it will produce cute little white flowers tinged with pink or purple. It’s also tolerant of a variety of soil conditions, including clay, sand, loam, or even saline. If you live near the beach, this groundcover may grow where regular turfgrass can’t.

Regular, deep watering and monthly mowing is all the care it needs (once established). Roots that reach ten feet below the soil surface make it well-suited for erosion control, even on steep slopes. It spreads by runners that can become very dense once established – this is how it can choke out those pesky weeds. The commercially available varieties are sterile (don’t produce seeds), so it is unlikely to become invasive.

One of the major drawbacks is cost. Kurapia is sold as plugs, and each tray costs over $150. Site preparation is the same as any other plug-started ground cover. The soil must be weed-free and have a good irrigation system for complete watering coverage. Even, regular watering is important for the establishment of a healthy kurapia lawn. Due to its dense network of surface runners, Kurapia can be subject to fungal disease. Avoid overwatering and run irrigation only in the morning to give surface moisture time to evaporate during the daytime. Any fungal problems can usually be resolved by adjusting irrigation and applying a standard antifungal treatment.

Kurapia is suitable only in warmer climates. The foliage will die back when the outside temperatures fall to 38F or lower, and the entire plant will not survive a hard freeze.

If you live in a hot, dry region subject to watering restrictions, this ground cover may work for you.

Los Angeles County

[email protected]; 626-586-1988; http://celosangeles.ucanr.edu/UC_Master_Gardener_Program/

Orange County

[email protected]; 949-809-9760; http://mgorange.ucanr.edu/

Riverside County

[email protected]; 951-683-6491 ext. 231; https://ucanr.edu/sites/RiversideMG/

San Bernardino County

[email protected]; 909-387-2182; http://mgsb.ucanr.edu

​ Orange County Register 

DeSantis ramps up executions as bid for president nears

• May 13, 2023

With his signing of a death warrant for Duane Owen on Wednesday, Gov. Ron DeSantis has now approved four executions in less than four months, ending a long drought where he didn’t condemn any murderers to die.

That move comes as DeSantis is on the verge of declaring a bid for the White House, raising the question of whether he’s attempting to boost his conservative bona fides, as even Democrats such as former Gov. Bob Graham have done in the past.

DeSantis has said that legal complications and the pandemic delayed him from signing death warrants for more than three years and that politics has nothing to do with it.

But state Sen. Geraldine Thompson, D-Orlando, contended it is “all part of his ambition to be the presidential nominee for the Republicans, to show that he’s tough on crime and he’s willing to impose the death penalty.”

DeSantis also signed two new bills into law that greatly expand the death penalty. One adds child sexual assault to the list of capital crimes, while another allows just eight of 12 jurors to sentence someone to die.

The governor’s expansion comes despite the Catholic Church’s condemnation of the practice, which has led to soul-searching on the part of Catholic Florida governors such as former Gov. Jeb Bush.

So is DeSantis, who has made his faith a key tenet of his political identity, a practicing Catholic who’s violating the church’s teachings? Asked twice, DeSantis spokesman Bryan Griffin wouldn’t say.

Last year, Griffin did tell the Tampa Bay Times, “The governor is a Christian and there is absolutely no issue with him sharing his values or utilizing them in his decision-making as a leader.”

323 people on death row

Owen is scheduled to die by lethal injection on June 15 in the murders of Georgianna Worden and Karen Slattery in 1984 in Boca Raton and Delray Beach.

On May 3, the state executed Darryl Barwick for the 1986 murder of Rebecca Wendt in Panama City, which followed the April 12 execution of Louis Gaskin in the 1989 murders of a couple in Flagler County and the Feb. 23 execution of Donald David Dillbeck for a slaying in Tallahassee in 1990.

Dillbeck was the first person executed in more than three years, when Gary Ray Bowles was put to death in August 2019 for a 1994 murder in Jacksonville. There are currently 323 people on death row in Florida.

At an event on May 5, DeSantis explained the rise in executions this year, telling reporters, “This is the law of the land, and we’re going to make sure that it’s followed.”

DeSantis said executions “slid a little bit” because of legal issues such as the disputed guilt of a death row inmate. James Dailey claimed another man confessed to the 1985 murder of a woman in Pinellas County for which he was sentenced to death, but he failed to convince a court in 2020 and 2021 and is still awaiting execution.

The COVID-19 pandemic also led to delays, he said, as well as 2022 being an election year.

“We said, ‘Let’s just get through the election,’” DeSantis said. “And then we’re trying to get on a more normal pace with some of this.”

‘Far more complicated’

Griffin said the execution procedure “is far more complicated — and involves many more people and resources — than is commonly understood.”

That includes providing the drugs used in lethal injection, the requirement that state officials including DeSantis be physically present and on the phone, the presence of witnesses and family members, as well as medical professionals needing to be on hand.

For death warrants, the law requires “a complete exhaustion of remaining appeals and the egregiousness of the crime [or crimes] committed,” Griffin said, adding state emergencies such as hurricanes also delay the process.

Democrats have used executions to shore up their “tough-on-crime” credentials in the past.

Then-Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton famously returned from the campaign trail in 1992 to oversee the execution of mentally impaired convict Ricky Ray Rector, while former Graham was nicknamed “Bloody Bob” for increasing executions in election years.

“Graham made a deal with the devil on the death penalty,” said Miami Herald editor Tom Fiedler, according to Slate. “He figured whatever good he wanted to achieve in politics would be lost if he didn’t give the people what they wanted.”

The expansion of the death penalty in Florida makes it stand out, even in the South.

“Alabama is the only other state that does not require jury unanimity when recommending a death sentence,” said Christie Arnold, associate for Social Concerns and Respect Life with the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops.

“Alabama’s requirement is at least 10 jurors must agree,” Arnold said. “So for Florida to even go further than that … means that we are now the outlier on the death penalty in the nation.”

Notably, the bills received bipartisan support. State Senate Democratic Leader Lauren Book spearheaded the child sexual assault expansion, citing her own history of child abuse by a caregiver.

Anger over the 2018 Parkland killer of 17 people escaping a death sentence by one juror’s vote also led many Democrats to back needing just eight votes to sentence death, including Book, Sen. Jason Pizzo, D-Hollywood, and Sen. Linda Stewart, D-Orlando.

“It’s actually been really eye-opening in that regard, to see that it’s much less of a partisan issue than, say, abortion,” Arnold said. “And we have seen Republican members vote against these death penalty bills,” including state Sen. Erin Grall, R-Vero Beach, and Ileana Garcia, R-Miami.

“There were a lot of crime victims’ families from Parkland present and testifying in favor of this bill,” said Neisha-Rose Hines, criminal justice policy strategist at ACLU of Florida, who testified against it.

Thompson, who voted against that bill, was also one of just five senators who voted against the child sexual assault bill.

“I think that many of our party supported this legislation because of their personal connection with our Democratic Leader in the Senate,” Thompson told the Orlando Sentinel. “But I just can’t, particularly when you think about the fact that many of the people on death row are Black and brown people, it’s just not something that I can support expanding.”

‘Violates human dignity’

The Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops opposed those expansions as well as the death penalty in general, Arnold said.

“We believe it violates human dignity, is plagued with error, perpetuates violence and does not deter criminal acts,” Arnold said.

DeSantis identifies as Catholic, though whether he attends Mass weekly is not publicized. He attended Mass at Ave Maria University in Southwest Florida in October, according to the private college’s website.

Catholic governors in the past have been torn by their church’s teachings and their duties as governor.

Bush, a Catholic convert, said it was “hard for me, as a human being, to sign the death warrant,” he told NBC’s “Meet the Press” in 2015. “… I’m informed by my faith in many things, and this is one of them.”

But, he added, “It was the law of the land when I was governor, and I faithfully dealt with it.”

Arnold said she couldn’t speak to whether violating Catholic teaching should result in a Catholic governor being barred from receiving communion, as some bishops have done with pro-abortion rights politicians.

“That’s up to each bishop, who has the authority over their specific parishioner who may or may not be the governor,” Arnold said.

Bishops’ decisions can vary greatly. Cardinal Wilton Gregory of Washington, D.C., said President Joe Biden could receive communion despite his support of abortion rights. The Archbishop of San Francisco, Salvatore Cordileone, barred former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi from communion in her home diocese.

“There has been a lot of noise made about that … but it’s happened very rarely,” Christine Firer Hinze, a professor of Christian ethics and chair of theology at Fordham University in New York, said of denying politicians communion for their actions in office. “However, it has happened occasionally. And I don’t know of any bishop in the U.S. who has done the same for a governor who signed a death warrant.”

The American church has an “undulating” standard for how they treat politicians, she said. But the current composition of American Catholic leaders, she added, “contains a lot more bishops who are vociferously for enforcing anti-abortion legislation than bishops who are vociferously for challenging capital punishment.”

David Cloutier, a professor of theology and ethics at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C, said the difference in emphasis between abortion and the death penalty has been debated for years.

“Is the Church saying something like abortion is a more serious or more grave matter than the death penalty, by focusing on one and not the other?” Cloutier said. “Technically, it should not be saying that and is not saying that. But that impression can be given.”

Hinze said the expansion of the death penalty to child rapists is particularly questionable theologically, where a life is not even being taken for another life.

“What is going to be the effect on the community of either executing this person or not executing this person?” she said, describing contemporary Catholic thinking. “[How is] putting them in jail for the rest of their life less effective than killing them?”

One thing should be clear for Catholics, Cloutier said.

“The issues of abortion, euthanasia, and capital punishment [are] all treated together in John Paul II’s encyclical on the culture of life. They all are offenses against the basic dignity of life that comes from God.”

​ Orange County Register 

As Title 42 expires, what should Southern California expect?

• May 13, 2023

Southern California communities are expecting to be “deeply impacted” by the end of Title 42, a coronavirus-era policy that allowed the U.S. to turn away asylum seekers at the southern border.

Between the state’s proximity to Mexico and a sizable immigrant population that already calls California home, the changes at the border may result in more asylum seekers settling in Southern California, whether with family or at any number of the shelters here, experts say.

“California, especially Southern California being so close to the border, has always seen a lot of immigrants,” said Alvaro Huerta, director of litigation and advocacy for the Los Angeles Immigrant Defenders Law Center.

“But now the shelters and nonprofit organizations that help folks across the border are at or beyond capacity, and they need infrastructure and more resources in order to be able to assist as many people as they can,” Huerta said.

Title 42, which allowed the U.S. to quickly turn away migrants at the border, expired late Thursday night. The Biden administration has put in place other policies meant to stop people from coming into the country illegally, but the U.S. has said it will accept up to 30,000 people per month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela under certain conditions (like having a sponsor) as well as up to 100,000 people from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras who already have family in the country.

“Because there are so many immigrants that are living in California, some of the people attempting to cross are family members, children and parents,” said Lauren Heidbrink, an immigration expert and professor at Cal State Long Beach.

In Riverside County, where six temporary sheltering sites are located, officials anticipate a “significant stress” on resources. Facilities there are already at 95% capacity, according to City News Service.

Related links

Camp Pendleton Marines will support Border Patrol agents as more migrants arrive
An end to pandemic restrictions could bring thousands to the border
California says it can no longer afford aid for COVID testing, vaccinations for migrants

“It remains to be seen what the local impact will be in the coming days, weeks or months when Title 42 expires,” county executive officer Jeff Van Wagenen recently said. “It is likely that we will see an increase in the number of individuals released by (California Border Patrol). This will cause significant stress to the system.”

According to the annual report of refugees and asylees released by the Department of Homeland Security in March, California, Washington and Texas resettled the most refugees in 2020. And according to the California Immigrant Data Portal, Sacramento, San Diego and Los Angeles counties in recent years were the top destinations for refugees in California, one of four states bordering Mexico.

The consensus among many officials and immigration experts is there is still a lot left to be figured out.

“Frankly, I think a lot of the information is still very much up in the air,” Huerta said. “It’s still very unclear exactly how it’s all going to work.”

And Heidbrink worries that the additional restrictions on asylum seekers at the border could mean many are turned away, unable to unite with family in California or elsewhere in the U.S.

Huerta wants to see more social workers, asylum officers and judges who can adjudicate cases sent to the border during this change.

About 200 Marines from Camp Pendleton will be sent to the border to aid agents with the first wave of service members arriving on Friday and the remaining troops arriving between May 27 and June 5.

Since 2019, California has invested around $1 billion in supporting some 350,000 asylum seekers, including providing medical screenings, vaccinations, temporary shelter, food and clothing, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office. California also supports several migrant shelters, travel staging sites and temporary sheltering facilities in San Diego, Imperial and Riverside counties.

Southern California lawmakers, too, say they are concerned about a shortage of resources at the border.

Rep. Lou Correa, an Anaheim Democrat who has visited multiple ports of entry between the U.S. and Mexico in recent weeks, said California has a “strong infrastructure at the border that enables us to process people a lot more efficiently” — and yet still, border patrol agents are saying more resources, including personnel, are needed.

“It just perplexes me that everybody talks about the fact that we have a border challenge, and yet, we’re not putting the resources where the men and women at the border tell me they need them,” Correa said.

“After several visits to the border, it’s evident to me we must do things differently,” echoed Rep. Mike Levin, D-San Juan Capistrano. “We’ve got to increase funding for effective border security measures; we’ve got to upgrade our processing systems.”

Republican Rep. Young Kim, on the other hand, supported extending the COVID-era policy. But she argues “ending programs like Title 42 … without replacements to help border patrol prevent overcrowding of facilities will make our border crisis even worse.”

But at least a few experts believe the immediate surge will only be temporary due to the backlog of those seeking refuge and other global conditions.

“We’ve barely lived up to our responsibilities of assessing people’s claims for asylum in a fair and accurate way,” said Marisa Cianciarulo, a Chapman University law professor and immigration law attorney. “Claims have continued to be processed, but there have been significant delays.”

Heidbrink, the Cal State Long Beach professor, agrees.

“There will be an immediate uptick in migration given that over 1 million people have been turned away under Title 42,” Heidbrink said. “And over time, we’ll see that we’ll return to pretty seasonal increases and dips in migration.”

Correa, the top Democrat on the Border Security and Enforcement Subcommittee, said the federal government must invest in more funding for asylum processing, expand programs that allow refugees to live in and work in the U.S. for a period of time, increase personnel at the border and “get away from the politics.”

“The solution is not to vote on one or two bills the way we’re going to do, and get up and say we fixed the refugee problem,” Correa said. “The solution is going to be long-term.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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